1. Field of the invention
This invention relates to a light-receiving member having sensitivity to electromagnetic waves such as light [herein used in a broad sense, including ultraviolet rays, visible light, infrared rays, X-rays and gamma-rays]. More particularly, it pertains to a light-receiving member suitable for using a coherent light such as laser beam.
2. Description of the prior art
As the method for recording a digital image information as an image, there have been well known the methods in which an electrostatic latent image is formed by scanning optically a light-receiving member with a laser beam modulated corresponding to a digital image information, then said latent image is developed, followed by processing such as transfer or fixing, if desired, to record an image. Among them, in the image forming method employing electrophotography, image recording has been generally practiced with the use of a small size and inexpensive He-Ne laser or a semiconductor laser (generally having an emitted wavelength of 650-820 nm).
In particular, as the light-receiving member for electrophotography which is suitable when using a semiconductor laser, an amorphous material containing silicon atoms (hereinafter written briefly as "A-Si") as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open patent application Nos. 86341/1979 and 83746/1981 is attracting attention for its high Vickers hardness and non-polluting properties in social aspect in addition to the advantage of being by far superior in matching in its photosensitive region as compared with other kinds of light-receiving members.
However, when the photosensitive layer is made of a single A-Si layer, for ensuring dark resistance of 10.sup.12 ohm.cm or higher required for electrophotography while maintaining high photosensitivity, it is necessary to incorporate structurally hydrogen atoms or halogen atoms or boron atoms in addition thereto in controlled form within specific ranges of amounts. Accordingly, control of layer formation is required to be performed severely, whereby tolerance in designing of a light-receiving member is considerably limited.
As attempts to enlarge this tolerance in designing, namely to enable effective utilization of its high photosensitivity in spite of somewhat lower dark resistance, there have been proposed a light-receiving layer with a multi-layer structure of two or more laminated layers with different conductivity characteristics with formation of a depletion layer within the light-receiving layer, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Nos. 121743/1979, 4053/1982 and 4172/1982, or a light-receiving member with a multi-layer structure in which a barrier layer is provided between the substrate and the photosensitive layer and/or on the upper surface of the photosensitive layer, thereby enhancing apparent dark resistance of the light receiving layer as a whole, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open patent application Nos. 52178/1982, 52179/1982, 52180/1982, 58159/1982, 58160/1982 and 58161/ 1982.
According to such proposals, A-Si type light receiving members have been greatly advanced in tolerance in designing of commercialization thereof or easiness in management of its production and productivity, and the speed of development toward commercialization is now further accelerated.
When carrying out laser recording by use of such a light receiving member having a light receiving layer of a multi-layer structure, due to irregularity in thickness of respective layers, and also because of the laser beam which is an coherent monochromatic light, it is possible that the respective reflected lights reflected from the free surface on the laser irradiation side of the light receiving layer and the layer interface between the respective layers constituting the light receiving layer and between the substrate and the light receiving layer (hereinafter "interface" is used to mean comprehensively both the free surface and the layer interface) may undergo interference.
Such an interference phenomenon results in the so-called interference fringe pattern in the visible image formed and causes a poor iamge. In particular, in the case of forming a medium tone image with high gradation, bad appearance of the image will become marked.
Moreover, as the wavelength region of the semiconductor laser beam is shifted toward longer wavelength, absorption of said laser beam in the photosensitive layer becomes reduced, whereby the above interference phenomenon becomes more marked.
This point is explained by referring to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a light I.sub.0 entering a certain layer constituting the light receiving layer of a light receiving member, a reflected light R.sub.1 from the upper interface 102 and a reflected light R.sub.2 reflected from the lower interface 101.
Now, the average layer thickness of the layer is defined as d, its refractive index as n and the wavelength of the light as .lambda., and when the layer thickness of a certain layer is ununiform gently with a layer thickness difference of .lambda./2n or more, changes in absorbed light quantity and transmitted light quantity occur depending on to which condition of 2nd=m.lambda.(m is an integer, reflected lights are strengthened with each other) and 2nd=(m +1/2).lambda.(m is an integer, reflected lights are weakened with each other) the reflected lights R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 conform.
In the light receiving member of a multi-layer structure, the interference effect as shown in FIG. 1 occurs at each layer, and there ensues a synergistic deleterious influence through respective interferences as shown in FIG. 2. For this reason, the interference fringe corresponding to said interference fringe pattern appears on the visible image transferred and fixed on the transfer member to cause bad images.
As the method for cancelling such an inconvenience, it has been proposed to subject the surface of the substrate to diamond cutting to provide unevenness of .+-.500.ANG.- .+-.10000.ANG., thereby forming a light scattering surface (as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 162975/1983); to provide a light absorbing layer by subjecting the aluminum substrate surface to black Alumite treatment or dispersing carbon, color pigment or dye in a resin (as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 165845/1982); and to provide a light scattering reflection preventive layer on the substrate surface by subjecting the aluminum substrate surface to satin-like Alumite treatment or by providing a sandy fine unevenness by sand blast (as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 16554/1982).
However, according to these methods of the prior art, the interference fringe pattern appearing on the image could not completely be cancelled.
For example, because only a large number of unevenness with specific sized are formed on the substrate surface according to the first method, although prevention of appearance of interference fringe through light scattering is indeed effected, regular reflection light component yet exists. Therefore, in addition to remaining of the interference fringe by said regular reflection light, enlargement of irradiated spot occurs due to the light scattering effect on the surface of the substrate to be a cause for substantial lowering of resolution.
As for the second method, such a black Alumite treatment is not sufficinent for complete absorption, but reflected light from the substrate surface remains. Also, there are involved various inconveniences. For example, in providing a resin layer containing a color pigment dispersed therein, a phenomenon of degassing from the resin layer occurs during formation of the A-Si photosensitive layer to markedly lower the layer quality of the photosensitive layer formed, and the resin layer suffers from a damage by the plasma during formation of A-Si photosensitive layer to be deteriorated in its inherent absorbing function. Besides, worsening of the surface state deleteriously affects subsequent formation of the A-Si photosensitive layer.
In the case of the third method of irregularly roughening the substrate surface, as shown in FIG. 3, for example, the incident light I.sub.0 is partly reflected from the surface of the light receiving layer 302 to become a reflected light R.sub.1, with the remainder progressing internally through the light receiving layer 302 to become a transmitted light I.sub.1. The transmitted light I.sub.1 is partly scattered on the surface of the substrate 301 to become scattered lights K.sub.1, K.sub.2, K.sub.3. . . K.sub.n, with the remainder being regularly reflected to become a reflected light R.sub.2, a part of which goes outside as an emitted light R.sub.3. Thus, since the reflected light R.sub.1 and the emitted light R.sub.3 which is an interferable component remain, it is not yet possible to extinguish the interference fringe pattern.
On the other hand, if diffusibility of the surface of the substrate 301 is increased in order to prevent multiple reflections within the light receiving layer 302 through prevention of interference, light will be diffused within the light receiving layer 302 to cause halation, whereby resolution is disadvantageously lowered.
Particularly, in a light receiving member of a multi-layer structure, as shown in FIG. 4, even if the surface of the substrate 401 may be irregularly roughened, the reflected light R.sub.2 from the first layer 402, the reflected light R.sub.1 from the second layer 403 and the regularly reflected light R.sub.3 from the surface of the substrate 401 are interfered with each other to form an interference fringe pattern depending on the respective layer thicknesses of the light receiving member. Accordingly, in a light receiving member of a multi-layer structure, it was impossible to completely prevent appearance of interference fringes by irregularly roughening the surface of the substrate 401.
In the case of irregularly roughening the substrate surface according to the method such as sand blasting, etc., the roughness will vary so much from lot to lot, and there is also nonuniformity in roughness even in the same lot, and therefore production control could be done with inconvenience. In addition, relatively large projections with random distributions are frequently formed, hence causing local breakdown of the light receiving layer during charging treatment.
On the other hand, in the case of simply roughening the surface of the substrate 501 regularly, as shown in FIG. 5, since the light-receiving layer 502 is deposited along the uneven shape of the surface of the substrate 501, the slanted plane of the unevenness of the substrate 501 becomes parallel to the slanted plane of the unevenness of the light receiving layer 502.
Accordingly, for the incident light on that portion, 2nd.sub.1 =m.lambda. or 2nd.sub.1 =(m +1/2).lambda. holds, to make it a light portion or a dark portion. Also, in the light receiving layer as a whole, since there is nonuniformity in which the maximum difference among the layer thicknesses d.sub.1, d.sub.2, d.sub.3 and d.sub.4 of the light receiving layer is .lambda./2n or more, there appears a light and dark fringe pattern.
Thus, it is impossible to completely extinguish the interference fringe pattern by only roughening regularly the surface of the substrate 501.
Also, in the case of depositing a light receiving layer of a multi-layer structure on the substrate, the surface of which is regularly roughened, in addition to the interference between the regularly reflected light from the substrate surface and the reflected light from the light receiving layer surface as explained for light receiving member of a single layer structure in FIG. 3, interferences by the reflected lights from the interfaces between the respective layers participate to make the extent of appearance of interferance fringe pattern more complicated than in the case of the light receiving member of a single layer structure.